Spy Car Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 I'm looking for a good solution for notebooks we can do math work in, especially with non-consumable books like AoPS. Ideally (I think) it would be ruled with graph-paper, and preferably it would be "metric" ruled, lie flat, not be spiral-bound. Lab books seem almost perfect, but the ones in Staples or Office Depot are really poor quality and are not metric. The ones from National Brands seem nice, but at $20 a pop, I don't think so. I'd like something that was easy to work with sitting on a couch or in bed, so I'd prefer not to use a 3-hole binder notebook. But I'm kind of striking out. Anyone have any good ideas? Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in PA Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 :lurk5: I was looking for something very similar about a year ago when DD was getting tripped up by handwriting/keeping neat columns issues as she got into more writing intensive math. I never found quite what I was looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Would these notebooks work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K&Rs Mom Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Mine use the composition books that go on sale in the fall. I do offer graph paper if they seem to need it, but haven't found a good way to combine the two, so the graph paper gets folded in half and stuck in the back of the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 (edited) :lurk5: I was looking for something very similar about a year ago when DD was getting tripped up by handwriting/keeping neat columns issues as she got into more writing intensive math. I never found quite what I was looking for. So the Hive needs to come through for the both of us :D Bill Edited May 31, 2012 by Spy Car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 We do use spiral notebooks (graph ruled) for our math work because, as you said, the lab books are prohibitively expensive. And really, the only difference is pretty much that the lab notebooks have numbered pages. We did not buy the cheap flimsy kind, but the larger, more stable ones. 5Star brand from Walmart worked very well. The cover is hard and stable (if you fold it over, you can work in it without a hard surface), and the surface is larger than letter size. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Five-Star-1-Subject-Wirebound-Notebook-College-Rule-5-Pack/20512203?_mm=TopOneGiantItem ETA: Don't think they are metric, but they have a nice size graph rule that works well for us. And it is a better print than the cheapest ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 Would these notebooks work? Those Moleskine books are super-nice, but these are sort of small and $$$. You'd think there would something in-between. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 We do use spiral notebooks (graph ruled) for our math work because, as you said, the lab books are prohibitively expensive. And really, the only difference is pretty much that the lab notebooks have numbered pages.We did not buy the cheap flimsy kind, but the larger, more stable ones. 5Star brand from Walmart worked very well. The cover is hard and stable (if you fold it over, you can work in it without a hard surface), and the surface is larger than letter size. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Five-Star-1-Subject-Wirebound-Notebook-College-Rule-5-Pack/20512203?_mm=TopOneGiantItem ETA: Don't think they are metric, but they have a nice size graph rule that works well for us. And it is a better print than the cheapest ones. The link is for "college-ruled" notebooks. Are the graph-paper ones an "in-house" item at Walmart? And is the rule 4 per inch or 5? Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 The link is for "college-ruled" notebooks. Are the graph-paper ones an "in-house" item at Walmart? And is the rule 4 per inch or 5? Bill I can not find a link to the graph ones - but the notebook *looks* the same. The rule is 4 per inch, which we like much better than the 5 per inch. I buy them when I shop for school supplies in August and stock up to have enough for the whole year; I do not know whether Walmart carries them all year round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heart'sjoy Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/323685/Office-Depot-Brand-Dual-Ruled-Marble/ or http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/320155/Office-Depot-Brand-Marble-Quad-Composition/ We've used the one directly above. I have the child draw a horizontal line across a two page spread and work on the left side. We use the left side to rework if needed and add insights gained. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/323685/Office-Depot-Brand-Dual-Ruled-Marble/ or http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/320155/Office-Depot-Brand-Marble-Quad-Composition/ We've used the one directly above. I have the child draw a horizontal line across a two page spread and work on the left side. We use the left side to rework if needed and add insights gained. Thanks. I'm going to check these out at Office Depot along with the 5 Star notebooks recommended by Regentrude. I still wish there was an option in between these and ultra-expensive books. Something with a "geek-cool" factor, that is functional, and not $20. Maybe there is no such thing? Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 What about making your own? You can design the graph lines, choose ink color/density, add metric as desired, use a rigid baking for when away from the table, choose paper quality, custom covers etc. If you want a way to secure the pages, look into scrap booking supplies to add rivets/ or elastic bands. Either invest in a spiral binder yourself, or have it done for you at stores like Office Max. I used to make a custom planner every year for my kids. I had abbreviations for the curricula used and just had to add page number or lesson number of what we covered. I had places to keep track of books read, field trips, concepts to revisit, words I wanted to add to spelling lists, etc. I loved having the custom books each year and they worked great for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 What about making your own? You can design the graph lines, choose ink color/density, add metric as desired, use a rigid baking for when away from the table, choose paper quality, custom covers etc. If you want a way to secure the pages, look into scrap booking supplies to add rivets/ or elastic bands. Either invest in a spiral binder yourself, or have it done for you at stores like Office Max. I used to make a custom planner every year for my kids. I had abbreviations for the curricula used and just had to add page number or lesson number of what we covered. I had places to keep track of books read, field trips, concepts to revisit, words I wanted to add to spelling lists, etc. I loved having the custom books each year and they worked great for me. I'm listening :bigear: Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 Like anyone cares :D, but I went to Office Depot just now. They (and Walmart) do not have the graph-ruled Five Star notebooks right now (it is a "back to school item). They did have the graph-ruled Composition (Lab) books that Heart'sJoy mentioned. Curiously they actually had two very similar looking (same Item No. 320-155) versions, but important nformation to follow they were not the same. One version had a "smooth-looking" black tape for the spine, and slightly darker and bluer lines on the graph paper. BUT, the coveron this version DID NOT fold back on itself. The other ones have a slightly textured tape. These fold back on themselves nicely! It makes all the difference (for my purposes) to have one with a cover that folds back. If this helps anyone, I'll be shocked! :D Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I just get the graph-ruled composition books from Staples. They always go on sale in August. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justLisa Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Ack! I just made one for myself for quilting and was thinking DS could use one for math since no one in this house seems to be able to work in a chair I'm a quilting geek and MUST draft on graph paper first. I also need everything to be pretty. And, I am also cheap :tongue_smilie: er....frugal. I have a cheap laser printer that prints really fast and just print metric graph paper by the load. I cut out cardboard (Costco soy milk cases make a FINE notebook cover LOL) and modge podged pretty scrapbooking paper over it, then spiral bound it. And YES to the must fold over itself. So, if you don't have scrapbooking paper lying around, I'm sure you could fine some kind of thick cover material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber in SJ Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 How do we feel about these? http://shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/c.ACCT107430/sc.23/category.2311/.f My Dh has been known to use these from the same place at work http://graphpaperbooks.com/engineering-notebooks/engineering-notebooks.html I hope the links work. Amber in SJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoGal Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 How about engineering paper? I used this in college. It has graph paper on the back (and you can see the lines in the front a little, so they can be traced). The paper comes 3-hole punched. If you search for engineering paper, you'll find it at Staples.com. Any college bookstore should have it as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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